Morning journal and courier., 1887-08-31
ATTACKED nv GRIZZLIES.
Two Adventurers that Show that
These Big Bears are Very Agrees
From Harpers Magazine.

| These Big Bears are Very Agrees.
! i've.
From Harpers Magazne.l
Few persons believe that a grizzly will
attack man before he is himself attacked.
I was one of these doubling Thomases un-
| til two years ago. when I was thoroughly
convinced by ocular demonstration that
some grizzlies at least will attempt to make
meal off man even though he may not
have harmed them previously. We were
hunting in the Shoshone Mountains in
4 northern Wyoming. 1 had killed large
elk in the morning, and on going back to
| the carcass in the afternoon to skin it we
saw that Bruin had been there ahead of US,
| but had fled on our approach. Without the
| least apprehension of his return, we leaned
| our rifles against tree about fifty feet away
and commenced work. There were three of
us, but only two rifles, Mr.. Hoffman, the
photographer, having left his in camp. He
had finished taking views of the carcass,
and we were all busily engaged in skinning,
when, heariug a crashing in the brush and a
series of savage roars and growls, we looked
up the hill and were Mortified to see three
grizzly bears, an old female and two cubs
about two-thirds grown, charging upon US
with all the fury of pack Of starving wolves
upon a sheepfold.
They were between us and our rifles when
we first saw them, and we sprang to our
horses which were picketed a few yards
below, supposing, of course, that when the
bears reached the elk carcass they would
proceed to eat it, and pay no further atten-
ton to us. Strange to say, it was the carr
cass to which they paid no attention. They
still came after US; we had no time for
fight, and could not even release and mount
our terror-stricken horses. Our only chance
was to fight for our lives, and with one ac-
cord we all three grasped our hunting knives
and dashed at them. We threw our hats
and yelled like Comanches, and the savage
brutes, seeing themselves thus boldly con-
fronted by equal numbers, stopped, raised
on their launches growled snapped their
jaws for few moments, and then walked |
sullenly up the hill into the brush. This
gave US an opportunity to get hold of our
rifles, and then it was our turn to charge.
To make long story short, we killed the
old female and one cub; the other escaped
into the jungle before we could get shot
at him. The resolute front we put on alone |
saved our lives.
Another instance of a grizzly making an |
unprovoked attack upon a man whom [ |
know to be strictly truthful. Two brothers |
were prospecting in range of mountains |
near the head waters of the Sinking Water |
River. The younger of the two though an /
able-bodied man, and capable of doing a /
good days work with pick or shovel 1
was weak minded, and the elder brother |
never allowed him to go any distance away
from camp or their work alone. He, how
ever, sent him one evening to the spring, |
a few rods off, to bring kettleful of water.
The spring was in deep gorge, and the /
trail to it wound through some assures in
the rock. AS the young man passed under
shelving rock an immense old female griz-
zly that had taken up temporary quarters.
reached out and struck a powerful blow I
at his head, but fortunately could not reach
far enough to do him any serious harm.
the blow knocked his hat off, and her claws
caught his scalp, and laid it open clear
across the top of his head in several ugly
gashes. The force of the blow sent him
spinning around, and not. knowing enough
to be frightened, he attacked he1 savagely
with the only weapon he had at hand-the
camp kettle. The elder brother heard the
racket, and hastily catching up his rife,
found his brother with the camp kettle, and
the bear striking at him savage blows, any
one of which, if she could have reached him.
would have torn his head from his shoulders.
Three bullets from the rifle, fired in rapid
loosened her hold upon the rocks,
and she tumbled lifelessly into the trail |
The poor idiotic boy could not even then
realize the danger through which he had
pasted, and could only appease his anger by
continuing to maui the bear over the head {
with the camp kettle for several minutes af-
lex she was dead. Ii